Family of Faith Game Plan
Michelle Leahy • October 7, 2024
An average professional football game contains over 150 plays. Fortunately, God’s plan for growing a faith-filled family is easier, especially with this Family of Faith Game Plan.
An average professional football game contains over 150 plays. Fortunately, God’s plan for growing a faith-filled family is easier, especially with this Family of Faith Game Plan.
God’s Word tells us that it is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children and to raise them in the faith. Churches, Christian schools, and other resources are there as fantastic supports, but faith development is still centered in the home. While this may feel like a huge responsibility (and it is!), it doesn’t have to be complicated. The most effective strategies will be the ones you use consistently, every day and every week. Consider this Family of Faith Game Plan.
- “Kickoff” each week with worship. Set the tone for the week ahead by showing your family what is most important. Worship together as a family, talk about the service on your way home, sing the songs/hymns in your free time. Don’t worry if your children are wiggly during worship; that is to be expected. When you attend weekly, your children “practice” worship behaviors and develop a habit of worshipping their Lord to last a lifetime.
- Study God’s “Playbook,” the Bible. Make reading the Bible together a daily habit either first thing in the morning, over dinner, or even before bed. Take turns selecting favorite stories or characters to read and discuss. Share favorite verses. Memorize verses together. Consider God’s faithfulness and look for how each story in the Bible points to Jesus.
- “Tackle” each new day and challenge with prayer. Develop a habit of beginning and ending each day in prayer. Pray with your children throughout the day whenever you feel yourself becoming frustrated with a challenge, when you notice someone else in need, or when you just need to stop and give thanks. Ask your children to lead prayer too. They will be far less self-conscious and will quickly become comfortable praying with anyone.
- “Pass” your stories of faith on to your children. What does your faith mean to you? How have you seen God in the past week? What challenges has God helped you overcome? What have you learned from the heroes of the Bible? Share your stories with your family. Make faith conversations a part of your every day discussions.
News & Notes
You are invited!
I want to share a story, actually several stories. I remember when I was young in Tulsa, Oklahoma and in Fredericktown, Missouri, of going up to the altar rail with my parents and receiving a blessing from my pastor. I remember sticking my head in between the posts on the altar rail and the pastor giving me a blessing. I don't exactly remember the words, but I knew it was important and I wanted that blessing. I remember in confirmation learning about what the pastor was actually saying, what those words actually meant. To understand what God was saying in his scriptures and growing in it. Overall, just being absolutely amazed at what my pastors, Pastor Sean and Pastor Beering were teaching me and knowing God better and just the joyfulness of it. And I remember Lyndi going through confirmation, adult confirmation, with Pastor Schueler in Rosenberg, Texas, and then seeing from her eyes what it meant to be Lutheran, to understand the faith. I had grown up in the Lutheran church, so it was all ordinary for me, but for her it was extraordinary to know and to understand and have that time with a pastor. And I'm so thankful for the pastors in my life and all of the other church workers that have been a part of my life who have helped me to understand who God is. I mentioned in this weekend’s sermon that there's an initiative, a program through the LCMS called Set Apart to Serve. It points out that we have a lack of pastors, teachers, and other church workers. Set Apart to Serve reminds us that the Lord asks us to pray for laborers for the harvest, and I encourage you to pray for laborers for the harvest. To pray for those that teach us who God is and to help us to understand how much we need him. If you happen to know some young people considering church work or being pastors, pray for them, encourage them. God has gifted them to us to answer our questions. Pray fervently that the Lord would send workers into his harvest so that we know him. Keep that in your prayers. I encourage you to look for people who would be good to take God's calling into his church. May the Lord provide workers for His harvest that we may know God and how richly He blesses us. Amen.
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Thank you to all of the 2025 VBS Volunteers. Thanks to you, we were able to share the Love of God with over 97 children this year!
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